Exploring Pre-service Teachers’ Reasoning Levels on Pseudoscientific and Scientific Texts

We live in a post-truth era, where disinformation and misinformation spread rapidly. In such an era, individuals need to be able to critically evaluate information. Investigating pre-service teachers’ ability to evaluate information is crucial because they will be educating future citizens who are able to distinguish pseudoscientific information from scientific information. The aim of the current qualitative study was to investigate pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) scientific reasoning levels in pseudoscientific and scientific topics. In this study, the reasoning levels of pre-service teachers in texts dealing with pseudoscientific and scientific topics were examined in two phases. First, the PSTs were given a manipulated and researcher-generated text created on one of ten pseudoscientific topics of their choice, and then, a scientific text on climate change in which the researchers had deliberately manipulated some of the information. They were asked to discuss in groups of 3 or 4 whether the information in each text was trustworthy and scientific, and whether the sources listed in the bibliography in each task were credible. Each of the groups’ tasks were analysed, considering their evaluation of information based on evidence, their differentiation between pseudoscientific information and scientific knowledge, and their judgement of the credibility of sources according to a rubric created by the researchers. The results of the study showed that PSTs were rarely able to demonstrate a high level of scientific reasoning in both pseudoscientific and scientific texts. The results suggest that teacher-training programmes should be redesigned to include discussion of the criteria for scientific knowledge and the credibility of sources to promote PSTs’ scientific reasoning.